Scars

Are My Scars Showing? **

   As Easter approached last week, I was reminded of the Cross daily. I really desired to have a fresh focus of Jesus’ sacrifice. I truly preferred to not just go through another holiday that was supposed to remind me of Jesus, but to truly remember Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection in a new way.

During this time of introspection, I was reminded afresh of the whole sacrifice that Jesus made for the whole world. In His sovereignty, He knew who would receive Him and who would reject Him yet, He chose to bear ALL sin for ALL time. The scars he now bears are wounds not only from the sins of the saved, but the lost as well. What kind of Savior does that? Who takes on intense punishment that will still be paid by the debtor? For example, let’s say that a man named Frank was a scoundrel from the day he was born. He cheated as many people as he could, robbed several banks and beat his girlfriend that he “shacked up” with to boot. Frank is told of Christ’s sacrifice for him before he dies, but decides to not receive Jesus. Did God know that Frank would not receive Him? Yes. God is all-knowing. But, did Jesus still bear Frank’s sin on the Cross? Yes. Romans 6:10 tells us, “For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all…” He didn’t pick and choose which sins He would cover with His blood. John 3:16 tells us that Jesus died for the WHOLE world, not some, not the few, the whole. All sins were covered for all time, every single one. Even for the ones He knew would never receive His sacrifice. He is amazing, isn’t He? Truly no darkness can be found in Him (I John 1:5).

As I was pondering all of these thoughts, I came across a quote by Gordon Watt. He said, “The call of the Cross, therefore, is to enter into this passion of Christ. We must have upon us the print of the nails.” I looked at my hands and thought, ‘Do I bear the scars of Christ?’ My answer was not satisfactory. My “sacrifices” for Christ’s work leave me a little tired at times, but not scarred. As I am being conformed into the image of Christ as Romans 8:29 says I should be are His scars, His sacrifice, visibly being seen in me?

But, He made the sacrifice, so why should scars be visible in me? Scars should be visible in me because I am dying daily (I Corinthians 15:31). When I am crucifying the flesh as I am compelled to do, because I want to be Christ-like, I place my carnal nature on the Cross every minute of every day. This makes my obligation to live under the flesh null and void. Romans 8:12 and 13 says, “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh –  for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” When I am crucified with Christ, I am then raised in newness of life and living under the resurrection power of The Holy Spirit. My flesh is dead, but my spirit is now under the control of my Lord. When I am living under the Spirit’s control, my scars show. My crucifixion is obvious to others. My scars show just as Jesus’ resurrection was obvious to others and His scars still show. We are never more like Christ then when we bear His markings.

So, if you see me quietly looking at my hands this week, just know that I am asking myself if my scars are showing. As I go to bed tonight, I will be asking myself if anyone saw the scars in my hands today. Did people see a crucified, resurrected life or, a weak-fleshed girl trying to accomplish things in her own strength? Did my husband see my new life in Christ or, the same loutish flesh? Did my boys see a scarred, radiant mom or, a tired work-a-holic? Did my neighbors see a rejuvenated Christ walker or, no one because I was hiding from their needs? Was I truly crucified with Christ today? Was I able to say as Paul, “I die daily”?

I confess scarring has never been a desire of mine. It used to be unwanted, repugnant. I have some scarring on my legs that I am bothered with. I have a chicken pox scar on my cheek that is finally fading after thirty plus years. My scars are not badges of courage but, reminders of stupidity. Christ’s scars are the opposite. They are not repugnant. They are beautiful, wanted, desired. They are the markings of a completely sacrificed life. A life that only wanted what God wanted and literally gave everything to surrender to that will. So now, I desire His scarring on my life, my hands, and my feet because that is what the crucified life looks like.

Oh, please, Lord, make Christ’s thoughts be my thoughts. His desires, my desires. His ways, my ways and His beautiful scars, mine.

** Please excuse all the formatting errors. I am struggling with a new program. Thank you!

Shouts of Praise

 Shouts of Praise

  As I was sitting in church on Sunday, my pastor (who happens to be my man) was asking the question, “Are we committed, or casual in our faith?” He took us to Luke’s Gospel where the Triumphal Entry of Jesus was described. You remember the scene. The disciples placed their garments on the colt and they “put Jesus on it” according to Luke 19:35. He was then paraded through town with the shouts of “Hosanna” ringing in everyone’s ears and palm branches waving. Most believing that this was the moment that all their troubles would be over. Their Messiah had come and He was going to show ‘those Romans’ who was boss. The expectations of the people were different from the reality of what God’s plans were in the moment.
Oh, I’ve been there, haven’t you? I’ve been in situations where God came and you knew it, but He did not come in the way you expected. You might have thought you had the best solution, but God chose another way.
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus went right from the parade to the Temple where He proceeded to clean out the filth. Instead of Jesus dealing with the government, as many expected, he dealt with the sin in the congregation. The people expected Him to gather a crowd to take over the Roman occupation, but He dealt with the sin “in the camp”. That was not what they expected and it drove a wedge between them and their Savior. Where was the excitement in repentance when they were craving a war?
We forget that II Chronicles 7:14 says if GOD’S PEOPLE will humble themselves, pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways healing will come. We forget about our own sins while seeing others’ sins so clearly. Who wants to deal with their own sin when it is so exciting to deal with another’s?
The Scripture tell us that Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem as He approached it because the people did not receive Him for Himself. They received Him, but only as long as He did the expected thing. As long as He was healing the sick and making blind eyes see, they were on board with His ministry. They accepted that He was their Messiah. But, when He started to throw out their profits, things got dicey quick. When He chose to pray instead of to march, they were mystified. Their attitude changed towards Him. Their attitude changed so much in fact that a few short chapters later, they decided to crucify Him. They didn’t want to bear the embarrassment of a Messiah who wasn’t what they expected.
Have I done that? Have I stopped telling people about Jesus because my expectations have not been met in some way? Have I held back my all because I think He should be a God who does what I think is best? When He doesn’t do as I’m expecting, do I turn my back on Him in some area?
Luke 19:37 tells us that “the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen.” Why were they rejoicing? Were they rejoicing because He was their Savior? Were they rejoicing because He was and is a good God? No, the Scriptures tell us that they rejoiced because OF THE MIRACLES which they had seen Him do.
When the crowds were shouting, “Hosanna” was Jesus cringing a little knowing that their heart was not truly His? Their shouts were for what He could do for them, not for who is was and is.
Does He cringe when my praise is empty? Do I praise Him for what He is doing and not who He is?
The Scriptures in no way imply that Jesus was appalled at their worship, or lack thereof, but it does pose the question. It causes me to remember the times when someone has given me a compliment or helped me with a task, but I KNEW that their intention was not for my good. Did I really want their help? Did I really want their empty praise? Does God really want mine?
I’m left with many questions this Easter season. I’m left with questions about my expectations of Jesus. What if my expectations are not His plans? Isaiah 55:8 assures me that His ways are NOT my ways and His thoughts are NOT my thoughts. Am I resting in the fact that His direction is always better than mine? Can I rest in the fact that He is good no matter what a circumstance looks like? Can I rest in the fact that He is sovereign and in complete control? Is my shouts of “Hosanna” a desirous sound to God, or an endurance? When He hears my cry of “Hosanna”, does He cringe a little, knowing that in the next breath if He doesn’t act like the God I think He should be, I could turn on Him? Is my faith so shallow?
I pray not. I pray that as He molds me into the beautiful creation that He has designed for my life that I will co-operate fully, worship Him wholly and participate effusively in true worship of my Savior and Lord. I pray that as he hears my shouts of “Hosanna” that He will be pleased knowing that He will stay God in my heart, that He will stay King, that He will stay Savior.
May our shouts be filled with true worship this Easter Season.

A Thing Called Courage

Tags

courage, fear, fuel, love, sharing the Gospel

A Thing Called Courage

 

  – A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked me to pray for her to have courage in bringing up God in a sticky situation. Of course, I complied, but it led me to think about what it takes to have courage in life, especially in regards to sharing The Gospel. Fear is the opposite of courage and The Word tells us that fear is not from God. In fact, it tells us that God gives us the spirit of power, love and a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). If that’s not courage, I don’t know what is. So, why is it hard for us to find the courage we need to tell people about God? Why is it hard for me to share The Gospel with people I claim to care about?

   After a few days of soul-searching, I concluded that courage is fueled by love. After all, when a parent loves a child they make unimaginable sacrifices to better that child’s life. Things that would have scared them to death before are now done without a thought of self-preservation, if the child is at risk of injury. Heights are now not a problem, if the child is stuck in a tree. Snakes must be killed, if they are in a child’s play area. Talking into television cameras if your child is lost is now something they are at ease with because it could help bring their child home. Their courage is fueled by love.

  Another example is our soldiers. Why would someone volunteer  to go into a war zone? When asked, soldiers often say they volunteer for love of country, or love of their family. They have courage because they love what their country stands for and want to preserve it for others. Again, love fuels courage.

  So, where does this leave me? If love fuels courage, but I am too scared to share Christ with others, does this mean I do not love? I John 4:16-17 says, “And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

  I know and believe in the love that God has for me, but what about the abiding part? Am I truly abiding in His love? If I have Christ’s love abiding in me, will I still have fear? I John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” Well, that answers that question. If I am truly abiding in Christ and He in me, there is no fear. There is ONLY  love, which I am learning fuels courage.

   Paul in Philemon verse nine said that for love’s sake he was appealing for Onesimus’ case. He was pleading his case because of the love that he knew Philemon had within him. How did he know that Philemon had love? He knew because the Holy Spirit was residing in him. Galatians 5:22 tells us that the first expression of the Spirit reigning in our lives is love. The only way that I can love people the way that God would have me to love them is by completely  yielding to His Spirit. When He is in control, love flows freely through me. When love flows freely, courage is not an issue. Courage is fueled by love.

  I John 4:9 tells us that God made the ultimate sacrifice of love by giving His Son to die for our sins on the cross. Verse ten goes on to say that this was done as a substitution for us. That’s what love looks like. That’s what courage looks like. I am to hold NOTHING back. After all, everything hard has already been finished. My only requirement is to let others know. My lack of love has caused me to see this task as a hard thing when in reality it is a very simple thing. When love is covering my actions, people see that. They don’t feel like they are on a checklist to meet my “Christian witnessing quota”. They see the sincerity and hear the love. Whether they receive the Good News or not is between them and God, but the Spirit’s love in me has got to shine forth. It has to be my fuel.

  I John 4:17 says that when love is perfected in us we have confidence in the Day of Judgment. I have always thought that this refers to having no fear before God because I have received His love and I know I am saved. I do believe this is part of it, but now I also think that this refers to our witness to others. Revelation is very clear that the blood of people we were commissioned to tell The Gospel to will be required of us at Judgment. The Word tells us that their blood will be on our hands. Verse 17 of I John 4 assures us that we can have confidence, not fear at The Judgment. How? When our lives have been fueled by Christ’s love, we are about our Father’s business. What is our Father’s business? It is telling people about His Son, our Savior (Acts 1:8). We won’t be fearful at The Judgment because we will know that whatever the Spirit prompted us to do, we did. We had courage because we had His love.

  So, my courage (or lack thereof) has become yet another checkpoint for me. If I have no courage, I have no love. If I have no love, I am not allowing The Holy Spirit to have full control. If I am not allowing The Holy Spirit to have full control, who am I allowing to control me? These are sobering thoughts, thoughts that in reality I would rather not deal with. But, the Word of God says clearly that if I do not love those around me, I am not who God has called me to be. Augustine of Hippo said, “If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.”

  With these thoughts ringing in our ears, let us be reminded that God has made provision for what He has commanded. As a pastor once said, “there was air before there were lungs”. God has the love for us to fuel our courage. We just have to yield to it.